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New Lakefront Park (at Fullerton) Offers Separate Paths For Cyclists, Pedestrians

A construction project at Fullerton Avenue and North Lake Shore Drive that added 5.8 acres of parkland east of the current shoreline has also created separate lakefront paths for bicyclists and runners to ease congestion.

The Fullerton Revetment Project, which is already nearly complete, added parkland near a busy intersection of the Lakefront Trail, protecting the drive from waves and making a grassy area for passersby to relax. A new section of the Lakefront Trail north of Fullerton has been open since November, and second half of the path south of the street debuted in the second week of December. Landscaping is expected to be complete by summer 2016.

Map of proposed project on the article:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151231/downtown/10-new-things-comi...

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Thanks for posting this. Separate paths would be so great. 

Note that this was just finished. (I find it hard to believe they will be doing more work there.)

This is great. I don't really understand the layout of this area and the map lack significant detail. Any clarity on where these paths are?

I've been riding through this construction for the last six months. I could not believe the amount of work these guys did. The landscaping alone had 30 guys working on it.

I passed through there this morning and made a mental note of what things looked like. Currently, I think bikes and peds aren't separated, but there is what looks to be a second path closer to the Theater on the Lake. Perhaps that will be for pedestrians once the winter is over and the snow fences taken down. The old secondary path (nearer to the Fullerton Ave LSD exit is still there, but doesn't quite connect back up to the main path. Perhaps they have a bit of work to finish off in the spring.

I don't think they will be separate paths at least as I understand it.

Hey! I can't help but notice that you are a Chicago cyclist, and I was interested in asking you a few questions for a research project I'm doing in a marketing class. It would mean a lot if you would complete a survey concerning bike shops in the Chicago area. Thank you so much, your responses will all be anonymous.

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I believe the separation is between the bike path (which is now open) and the path right along the shoreline (pointed to by the "Proposed Shoreline" arrow in your second image - still blocked off by snow/construction fence). Note that south of the improvements, the two paths merge, so the separation is only going to be useful right in the area of the improvements. I suspect most pedestrians/joggers/dog walkers/baby strollers will continue to use the new path. ISTR (I didn't ride today, and my brain is operating on very little sleep) there is a cinder path alongside the paved path, just like most other places along LFT.

I don't view the proposal as disingenuous. They have provided the proposed alternative. It's up to people to use it if they wish.

Check Out New Green Space, Trail Along Lakefront at Fullerton

Those who haven't visited the lakefront at Fullerton Avenue lately might be surprised to see green space where the lake used to be.

The majority of the work on the $31.5 million Fullerton Revetment Project is complete. That means crews have added 5.8 acres of parkland east of the current shoreline at Fullerton Avenue in the area surrounding Theater on the Lake, 2401 N. Lake Shore Drive.

Mike Claffey, a Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman, said the only thing left to is finish landscaping, which includes installing light poles and planting more trees, which should be complete by spring.

Crews have also built a new section of the lakefront trail that separates bikers from pedestrians to ease congestion. The paths are split for 600 feet and then rejoin, creating less traffic around Fullerton Avenue at the theater, which was a bottleneck.

More: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160106/lincoln-park/check-out-new-...

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